I am looking at a one owner 2005 Yukon XL w/ 8.1L. It has all options save navigation. The private seller is asking $24000 and says he is a little flexible. I have seen many of these sell in only a few weeks time after being posted on the internet. Any opinions on what it is worth?

When we bought ours I had been looking for several months (in SoCal) and got frustrated because of how poorly people had taken care of the 3/4 ton Suburbans and Yukons. The ones that were in good condition at a reasonable price sold very quickly. I got tired of wasting my time looking at something I would never own, and I decided to up my budget about $5K to open a lot more options. I ended up with a lightly used 2007 3/4 ton Suburban with 22K miles and every option available for $28K. We couldn't be happier with it.

If it doesn't have too many miles and is in good condition without any damage history then $24K isn't too bad in my opinion. If the seller is flexible see how low you can get the price. I would say any lower than the price you listed is pretty good.

Price is on the high end, but if it's clean and miles are relatively low, you can't go wrong.

My '01 with the 8.1 has192,000 miles, and is going strong. They stopped offering the 8.1 in '06, so you will have one of the last runs of one of the greatest engines ever produced. 340 hp and 455 ft lbs of torque gives it some serious towing power.
If it has the 4.10 rear end, its rated at 12,000 lbs. even with the 3.73 it's good for 10,000 lbs ...still way more than most tow boats.

That's just over 10,000 miles per year, barely broken in.
If you like everything else about it (color, interior, etc) I would jump all over it, if you don't someone else will.
If it has the rear barn doors, that's another thing they discontinued in '06, I prefer them over the liftgate, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

Price is a bit high but if it is what you want then I wouldn't let the price be a problem. When I bought my truck last year I got exactly what I wanted for a fair price. it was worth it to me to pay an extra grand or so to get exactly what I wanted. I probably could have searched for another month or so and gotten a better deal but it just wasn't worth my time to do that.

Ive watched about 4 different 8.1 L sell in the last few weeks after being on the net for just a few days. Apparently these things are pretty hard to come by especially in the condition this one is in and the maintenance records it has. We'll see.

The fact that they stopped production of the big block makes this a desirable vehicle. The fact that this one has only 55,000 miles on it makes it even a more desirable vehicle. If it is what you are looking for, this is your chance.

The guys retailing ya but he knows what he has and knows its worth it. Market value on that rig is a little higher than what he is asking but you can throw that out the window based on rarity and condition. That thing has got to be pewter, right?

Damn, I couldn't sell my K2500 8.1L Burb for nearly what it blue booked for. Everyone who saw it had an 8.1L ran. That was last August though when the gas prices were high. I took $10,500 for it which was private party fair condition. It was super clean, with all services (Over serviced if anything) and many upgrades performed by me, with only 62k miles on it. I loved my truck, but every time I went to fill the tank I cringed, and therefore rarely drove it, sometimes letting it sit for weeks at a time.

Looks very clean.
You're going to love towing with it, and just driving it period.
Tell us more about it.
Is it 4X4? mid row captains or bench? leather or cloth? barn doors or lift gate? auto ride? what rear end ratio?

Chris,
Its 4x4 SLT with leather auto ride, DVD and all options except navi. Lift gate which I wasn't too sure about but the barn doors are rare. I have barn doors on my 99 Suburban, but I can think of a situation where the lift gate will be a nuisance.

After having had both lift gate and barn doors, I think I actually prefer the lift gate. Especially when it is raining. Sounds like a nice ride. The 3.73 gears will cost you a little power but should help with fuel mileage.

I have put about 2000lbs in the back of my Burb (5000psi industrial air compressor and four 4500psi storage banks, along with a bunch of gear) and driven it from LA back to NorCal. It rode super smooth

Make sure to keep around a 1/4 tank of fuel in at all times, or it will destroy the fuel pump.

Chris, you are a lucky man. They are one of the worst fuel pump delivery systems out there. I current ramped mine every 10K miles to make sure it wasn't failing. The pump is cooled by the fuel in the tank. Run the tank down and it is no longer cooled.

No I did not change anything on the shocks, as I am not jumping the thing. You are not changing the travel of the suspension just the resting height. It only lifts it a couple of inches if even that. Really firmed up the ride to make the truck handle much better. The 3/4 tons do not need a key change unlike the 1/2 ton GM's which use the green Ford keys to lift them. Find a level road, grab a tape measure, and crank away. Make sure to drive it forward or backwards a little and recheck the height. I would strongly recommend an alignment after doing so. I did it when I changed to Bridgestone tires. Make sure to always run "E" load range tires. With your gear ratio 265's are as big as I would recommend. It should have 245's on it now.